Accessing America’s Critical Minerals Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2604 To improve the permitting process for critical mineral projects, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 15, 2021 Mr. STAUBER (for himself, Mr. NEWHOUSE, Mr. WESTERMAN, Mrs. CAMMACK, Ms. TENNEY, Mr. LAMALFA, Mr. MCKINLEY, Mr. GROTHMAN, Mr. EMMER, Mrs. MILLER of Illinois, Mr. ROSENDALE, Mr. STEWART, Mr. BAIRD, and Mr. TIFFANY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addi- tion to the Committee on Small Business, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provi- sions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To improve the permitting process for critical mineral projects, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Accessing America’s 4 Critical Minerals Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2604.IH H2604 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2604 IH SEC. 2. PERMITTING. 1 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 2 gress that— 3 (1) critical minerals are fundamental to the 4 economy, competitiveness, and security of the United 5 States; 6 (2) to the maximum extent practicable, the crit- 7 ical mineral needs of the United States should be 8 satisfied by minerals, elements, substances, and ma- 9 terials responsibly produced and recycled in the 10 United States; and 11 (3) the current Federal permitting process is an 12 impediment to mineral production and the mineral 13 security of the United States. 14 (b) COORDINATION ON PERMITTING PROCESS.— 15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta- 16 tion with appropriate Federal agencies, shall, to the 17 maximum extent practicable, with respect to the 18 Federal permitting and review process for critical 19 mineral projects on Federal land— 20 (A) establish and adhere to timelines and 21 schedules for the consideration of, and final de- 22 cisions regarding, applications, operating plans, 23 leases, licenses, permits, and other use author- 24 izations for mineral-related activities on Federal 25 land; 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2604.IH H2604 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2604 IH (B) establish clear, quantifiable, and tem- 1 poral permitting performance goals and track- 2 ing progress against those goals; 3 (C) engage in early collaboration among 4 agencies, project sponsors, and affected stake- 5 holders— 6 (i) to incorporate and address the in- 7 terests of each such agency, sponsor, and 8 stakeholder; and 9 (ii) to minimize delays; 10 (D) ensure transparency and accountability 11 by using cost-effective information technology to 12 collect and disseminate information regarding 13 individual critical mineral projects and agency 14 performance; 15 (E) engage in early and active consultation 16 with State and local governments and Indian 17 Tribes to avoid conflicts or duplication of effort, 18 resolve concerns, and allow for concurrent, 19 rather than sequential, State, local, Tribal, and 20 Federal environmental and regulatory reviews; 21 (F) meet or exceed the performance 22 metrics contained in subsection (g); 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2604.IH H2604 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2604 IH (G) expand and institutionalize permitting 1 and review process improvements that have 2 proven effective; 3 (H) develop mechanisms to better commu- 4 nicate priorities and resolve disputes among 5 agencies at the national, regional, State, and 6 local levels; and 7 (I) develop other practices to improve the 8 regulatory processes, such as preapplication 9 procedures. 10 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out para- 11 graph (1), the lead agency shall consider deferring 12 to, and relying on, baseline data, analyses, and re- 13 views performed by State agencies with jurisdiction 14 over the proposed critical mineral project. 15 (3) MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT.—The lead 16 agency with respect to a critical mineral project on 17 Federal land, in consultation with any other Federal 18 agency with jurisdiction over such project, shall, 19 upon request of the project sponsor, a State or local 20 government, an Indian Tribe, or other entity such 21 lead agency determines appropriate, establish a 22 memorandum of agreement with the project sponsor, 23 a State or local government, an Indian Tribe, or an- 24 other entity such lead agency determines appropriate 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2604.IH H2604 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2604 IH to carry out the activities described in this sub- 1 section. 2 (4) TIME LIMIT FOR PERMITTING PROCESS.— 3 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, and ex- 4 cept with agreement of the project sponsor, the total 5 period for all necessary Federal reviews and permit 6 consideration for a critical mineral project on Fed- 7 eral land reasonably expected to produce critical 8 minerals may not exceed— 9 (A) with respect to a project that requires 10 an environmental assessment under section 11 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy 12 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4331(2)(C)), 18 13 months; or 14 (B) with respect to a project that requires 15 an environmental impact statement under such 16 section, 24 months. 17 (c) DETERMINATION UNDER NATIONAL ENVIRON- 18 MENTAL POLICY ACT.— 19 (1) IN GENERAL.—To the extent that the Na- 20 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 21 4321 et seq.) applies to the issuance of any mineral 22 exploration or mine permit relating to a critical min- 23 eral project, the lead agency may deem the require- 24 ments of such Act satisfied if the lead agency deter- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2604.IH H2604 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2604 IH mines that a State or Federal agency acting under 1 State or Federal law has addressed the following 2 factors: 3 (A) The environmental impact of the ac- 4 tion to be conducted under the permit. 5 (B) Possible alternatives to issuance of the 6 permit. 7 (C) The relationship between long- and 8 short-term uses of the local environment and 9 the maintenance and enhancement of long-term 10 productivity. 11 (D) Any irreversible and irretrievable com- 12 mitment of resources that would be involved in 13 the proposed action. 14 (2) PUBLICATION.—The lead agency shall pub- 15 lish a determination under paragraph (1) not later 16 than 90 days after receipt of an application for the 17 permit. 18 (3) VERIFICATION.—The lead agency shall pub- 19 lish a determination that the factors under para- 20 graph (1) have been sufficiently addressed and pub- 21 lic participation has occurred with regard to any au- 22 thorizing actions before issuing any mineral explo- 23 ration or mine permit for a critical mineral project. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2604.IH H2604 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2604 IH (d) SCHEDULE FOR PERMITTING PROCESS.—For 1 any critical mineral project for which the lead agency can- 2 not make the determination described in subsection (c), 3 at the request of a project sponsor, the lead agency, co- 4 operating agencies, and any other agencies involved with 5 the mineral exploration or mine permitting process shall 6 enter into an agreement with the project sponsor that sets 7 time limits for each part of the permitting process, includ- 8 ing— 9 (1) the decision on whether to prepare an envi- 10 ronmental impact statement or similar analysis re- 11 quired under the National Environmental Policy Act 12 of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); 13 (2) a determination of the scope of any environ- 14 mental impact statement or similar analysis required 15 under such Act; 16 (3) the scope of, and schedule for, the baseline 17 studies required to prepare an environmental impact 18 statement or similar analysis required under such 19 Act; 20 (4) preparation of any draft environmental im- 21 pact statement or similar analysis required under 22 such Act; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2604.IH H2604 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2604 IH (5) preparation of a final environmental impact 1 statement or similar analysis required under such 2 Act; 3 (6) any consultations required under applicable 4 law; 5 (7) submission and review of any comments re- 6 quired under applicable law; 7 (8) publication of any public notices required 8 under applicable law; and 9 (9) any final or interim decisions. 10 (e) ADDRESSING PUBLIC COMMENTS.—As part of 11 the review process of a critical mineral project under the 12 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 13 4321 et seq.), the lead agency may not address any agency 14 or public comments that were not submitted— 15 (1) during a public comment period or consulta- 16 tion period provided during the permitting process; 17 or 18 (2) as otherwise required by law. 19 (f) REVIEW AND REPORT.—Not later than 1 year 20 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary and 21 the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit to Congress a 22 report that— 23 (1) identifies additional measures (including 24 regulatory and legislative proposals, as appropriate) 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2604.IH H2604 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2604 IH that would increase the timeliness of permitting ac- 1 tivities for the exploration and development of do- 2 mestic critical minerals; 3 (2) identifies options (including cost recovery 4 paid by permit applicants, as appropriate) for ensur- 5 ing adequate staffing and training of Federal enti- 6 ties and personnel responsible for the consideration 7 of applications, operating plans, leases, licenses, per- 8 mits, and other use authorizations for critical min- 9 eral projects on Federal land; 10 (3) quantifies the amount of time typically re- 11 quired (including a range derived from minimum 12 and maximum durations, mean, median, variance, 13 and any other statistical measure or representation 14 the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture de- 15 termine appropriate) to complete each step (includ- 16 ing those aspects outside the control of the executive 17 branch, such as judicial review, applicant decisions, 18 or State and local government involvement) associ- 19 ated with the development and processing of applica- 20 tions, operating plans, leases, licenses, permits, and 21 other use authorizations for a mineral exploration or 22 mine permit for a critical mineral project; and 23 (4) describes actions carried out pursuant to 24 subsection (b). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2604.IH H2604 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2604 IH (g) PERFORMANCE METRIC.—Not later than 90 days 1 after the date of submission of the report under subsection 2 (e), the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture, after 3 providing public notice and an opportunity to comment, 4 shall develop and publish a performance metric for evalu- 5 ating the progress made by the executive branch to expe- 6 dite the permitting of critical mineral projects. 7 (h) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Beginning with the first 8 budget submission by the President under section 1105 9 of title 31, United States Code, after publication of the 10 performance metric required under subsection (f), and an- 11 nually thereafter, the Secretary and the Secretary of Agri- 12 culture shall jointly submit to Congress a report that— 13 (1) summarizes the implementation of rec- 14 ommendations, measures, and options identified in 15 paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (f); 16 (2) using the performance metric under sub- 17 section (d), describes progress made by the executive 18 branch, as compared to the baseline established pur- 19 suant to subsection (c)(3), on expediting the permit- 20 ting of activities that will increase exploration for, 21 and development of, domestic critical minerals; and 22 (3) compares the United States to other coun- 23 tries in terms of permitting efficiency and any other 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2604.IH H2604 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2604 IH criteria relevant to the globally competitive critical 1 minerals industry. 2 (i) INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS.—Using data from the 3 Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary generated 4 under subsection (g), the Director of the Office of Man- 5 agement and Budget shall prioritize inclusion of individual 6 critical mineral projects on the website operated by the 7 Office of Management and Budget in accordance with sec- 8 tion 1122 of title 31, United States Code. 9 (j) REPORT OF SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRA- 10 TION.—Not later than 1 year and 300 days after the date 11 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Small 12 Business Administration shall submit to the Committees 13 on Small Business and Natural Resources of the House 14 of Representatives and Small Business and Entrepreneur- 15 ship and Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a 16 report that assesses the performance of Federal agencies 17 with respect to— 18 (1) complying with chapter 6 of title 5, United 19 States Code, in promulgating regulations applicable 20 to the critical minerals industry; and 21 (2) performing an analysis of regulations appli- 22 cable to the critical minerals industry that may be 23 outmoded, inefficient, duplicative, or excessively bur- 24 densome. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2604.IH H2604 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 2604 IH (k) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 1 (1) BYPRODUCT.—The term ‘‘byproduct’’ has 2 the meaning given such term in section 7002 of the 3 Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 4 116–260). 5 (2) CRITICAL MINERAL.—The term ‘‘critical 6 mineral’’ has the meaning given such term in section 7 7002 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 8 (Public Law 116–260) except that such term shall 9 not exclude materials described in subsection 10 (a)(3)(B)(iii) of such section. 11 (3) CRITICAL MINERAL PROJECT.—The term 12 ‘‘critical mineral projec [Text truncated for display. 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